The problem of selecting, storing, protecting, displaying, and transporting jewelry is as old as recorded history. Various forms of containers such as compartmented boxes, pocketed rolls, padded trays, and perforated hangings all performed the function of carrying and protecting jewelry. Unfortunately the current art is still at this stage with no serious improvement in recent history. While attempts have been made to improve the versatility of the designs, all prove to be cumbersome, difficult to work with, or limited in application, among other shortcomings. What is ideal is to have a device that will allow its contents to be securely attached and protected from adverse conditions during transport, be easily used in that it will not be difficult to view, select, remove, and attach its contents, and prepare it for either display or travel.
Certain inventions have come close to reaching this ideal but have been difficult to work with. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,219 to Mink uses hook and loop attached plastic compartments on a mesh background that makes it difficult to open and close the compartments or remove or insert the contents easily. The contents are not well protected and the invention is stiff from the excessive use of hook and pile fasteners and not very compact. This new invention uses a flexible material that separates the contents on it by simply attaching the jewelry to the material directly. Because it is flexible it rolls up compactly and protects its contents from harm by means of integral padding in the back piece. Another example of limited application is U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,883 to Miller which causes post type earrings to be pushed through a mesh material and a sheet of craft foam. If an earring post loses its backing it will drop off of the device. Also, there are other types of earrings commonly available without backings and the Miller device does not allow these to be attached. When Miller's device is rolled the rear posts of the earrings will gouge or mar the exposed front surface of the other earrings displayed there and whatever surface it rests against. The new device allows all currently available pierced type earrings, as well as many other kinds of jewelry, to be attached. For example on the new device there are loops for attaching clip-on earrings, and snap-ended strips for attaching finger rings. It has a separate back piece that protects the jewelry and adjacent surfaces from harm by shielding the rear of the earrings from the front when rolled up. Plus by having the back piece longer than the front overall, the front piece carrying the jewelry will not bind with the rear due to the rear rolled up diameter being larger than the front rolled up diameter. Also, if an earring loses its backing it will be captured for easy retrieval in the trough formed where the back piece joins the front piece at its bottom. Further, by virtue of the attached slipcase, items that may come loose during travel will be contained if they evade the trough.
The ease with which jewelry can be retrieved has also been a problem for users in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,920 by Thomsen is lacking in this case because it must be laid flat upon a surface and, its stiff panel when lifted, will allow dangling contents to move around and become tangled because it pivots on a single hinge. This new invention hangs from any protrusion that will accommodate its cord, as well as lay upon any surface. The contents are easily retrieved because the jewelry holding surface is flexible with no set hinge point. Plus, the front and rear flexible pieces are of different widths, with the rear being wider than the front so that slipping a hand between the layers is easily facilitated.
This new invention has some additional utility not found on any previous art. The surfaces of the front and back pieces that face each other are coated with a frictionable substance that improves the devices ability to hold jewelry in place during transport, and a separate compartment is provided to hold items that cannot be attached to the device by any other means. Because certain situations may require that jewelry be donned when a mirror is not available, one is attached to the front face of the device. A timepiece is also attached near the mirror. Both the mirror and timepiece are detachable so the device can be easily cleaned. When the device is encased and prepared for travel, the slipcase has a cinch strap to hold its contents snugly, and a draw string closure acts as a convenient carrying handle. All the features of this new device are intended to provide the user with a safe, convenient, dependable, and attractive means for storing, protecting, displaying, selecting, and transporting jewelry and accessories.